In recent years, hundreds of new drugs have appeared on the recreational drugs market in Europe. Some of these substances, such as ketamine and γ-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), have legitimate medical purposes. These compounds have been joined bymany novel psychoactive substances that, combined with their online marketing, pose a challenge for policy makers and health providers. The origins of these ne...

Following the discovery of FN3K (fructosamine 3-kinase), and more recently of FN3KRP (FN3K-related protein), research in our laboratory has been focused on testing the enzymatic deglycation hypothesis and investigating the roles of FN3K and FN3KRP. Thus far, using human erythrocytes as a model system, we have obtained the following evidence of enzymatic deglycation: (a) production of GHb (glyca...

GBL (gamma-butyro-lactone) is converted to Gamma hydroxyl butyrate (GHB) in the body. GBL and GHB are available in liquid form and powder form. Once categorised under "legal highs", these two are not associated with any dependence or withdrawal in animal studies. But there are case reports indicating their high dependence potential in humans. We here present a case of a 29 year old who came to ...

GHB is an increasingly popular drug of abuse that can be associated in select cases with growing dependence and a severe withdrawal syndrome. While benzodiazepines are recommended for treatment of the withdrawal syndrome, some cases have been described as benzodiazepine-resistant. The authors describe treatment of such a case, which was unsuccessfully treated initially with benzodiazepines, the...

OBJECTIVE This study investigates the drug consumption patterns of a sample of rave attendees in the city of Montreal, Quebec, and seeks to identify the prevalence of 3,4-methylendioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and other drug use in this population. METHOD We administered a self-report questionnaire to 210 respondents. For various licit and illicit substances, participants reported their age of f...

WE COMPARED THREE GROUPS OF PREGNANT WOMEN: placebo with normotensive women, group A which included preeclamptics, and group B which comprised preeclamptics who were supplemented their diets with vitamins C and E. MDA increased from 6.22 +/- 2.8 (placebo) to 8.48 +/- 1.2 (A) and 8.02 +/- 1.8 nmol/gHb (B). NO concentrations were enhanced from 19.3 +/- 4.2 (P) to 23.8 +/- 6.4 (A) and 24.1 +/- 5.4...

Lead is known to cause harmful effects in the haematopoietic, nervous, digestive, renal, and other organ systems, inhibiting a number of enzymes in the biosynthesis of haem, as well as other enzymes with haematological significance. Our study involved 151 employees involved with the cutting of crystal, i.e. leaded glass, who had been found using eco-monitoring to have been exposed to above norm...

discussion this is the first iranian 3-oxothiolase deficiency case report as searched in the literature. because of the high rate of consanguineous marriages in iran, physicians should consider the 3-oxothiolase deficiency in the differential diagnosis of any patient with intractable vomiting and severe metabolic acidosis. case presentation this is a case report of 3-oxothiolase deficiency in a...

gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) shows great promise as a treatment for sleeping disorders but is also increasingly abused. The exact mechanism of action of GHB is yet to be delineated, but it is known to interact with specific GHB binding sites or receptors, to act as a weak agonist at GABA(B) receptors, and that GHB undergoes metabolism to GABA. In drug discrimination studies, GABA(B) agonists...